Italian designer Paolo Pininfarina talks about his 25-year partnership with Snaidero and the creation of the famous Ola kitchen.

Italian kitchen design brand Snaidero has recently opened the doors of its flagships studio in Dubai Design District (d3). Snaidero has been present in the Middle East since 1996, but the new showroom in d3 provides a complete overview of its kitchen design range, including the Ola20 and Idea40 kitchens, designed in collaboration with Ferrari supercar designer Pininfarina.

Paolo Pininfarina

Their 25 year partnership has led to projects which have left their mark on the history of kitchen design. As part of the Dubai showroom opening, Edi Snaidero, president of Snaidero and Paolo Pininfarina, chairman of Pininfarina, discussed the brands’ history, their evolution, aspects of Italian design, sustainability practices, trends and the future of the creative industry.

“A passion for design is the glue that has kept Snaidero and Pininfarina together,” says Pininfarina. “It is an alliance that has generated state-of-the-art projects, both in the way they look and in the way they work. Our collaborative designs are innovative and iconic and are bound to appeal to Dubai’s predilection for refinement.”

Pininfarina sees the partnership with Snaidero as a long term collaboration in design and also in marketing.

“We have launched more than 30 similar events worldwide, opening new ways of business and projects which we created throughout the years.

“The Middle East is very international – it is open to contributions in terms of design and architecture from all over the world. It is a very fertile place to build the future. We also have the great opportunity to participate in Expo 2020, so it’s the right place to be today,” says Pininfarina.

Snaidero explains that the world of kitchen design is actually very close to the car industry.

“Pininfarina is known worldwide for designing cars, but in 1989 it decided to explore design outside the automotive industry,” says Snaidero. “It was good for both of us since it introduced new technologies.”

Apart from the Ola collection, in 2000 Snaidero asked Pininfarina to proceed with the restyling of its classic Idea kitchen, which has been on the market for 40 years as the first handle-free kitchen.

“A good design is one that can stand the test of time and Idea is a great example,” says Snaidero.